True Oriental Carpets
Contrary to popular belief, the term “Oriental Area Rug” does not include all elegant, patterned rugs. The constant struggle between Hand Woven Oriental Rugs and Machine-Made Oriental Rugs often explains the confusion, as true Oriental Rugs should be hand-woven and knotted. The only exceptions are rugs manufactured by Karastan, a brand that uses unique methods to create machine-made rugs that rival hand-made rugs from around the world.
Spotting a Machine-Made Rug
Carpet store employees and owners may attempt to sell a machine-made rug under the title “Oriental Area Rug,” but these individuals are taking advantage of you. You should not pay a premium price for an area rug made by machines. To protect yourself from fraud, you should learn to recognize the difference between Hand Woven Oriental Rugs and Machine-Made Oriental Rugs.
Both rug types may exhibit traditional designs. The key to making a distinction lies in material. Any rug made from polypropylene and/or nylon has been manufactured by a machine, not created by hand. These rugs often come from Belgium or other countries attempting to mass produce rugs under the “Oriental Area Rug” name.
You’ll notice the stitching is quite different on Hand Woven Oriental Rugs. The knots will be more distinguished than those found on machine-made carpets. You can also spot a machine-made rug from “Belgium Oriental” labels, which are hardly ever hand-woven. In general, you should be suspicious of any rugs made in Belgium, Italy, or locations far from Asia and the Middle East.
We suggest thinking “Old World” rather than “New World.” Oriental Area Rugs originated in Eastern Countries. Therefore, traditional and valuable rugs only come from those countries. You should remember, however, that countries like Turkey, Egypt, Romania, Albania, and Bulgaria also export large quantities of machine-made rugs. This means you should never make an assumption based on location alone.
A machine simply cannot include the precision and detail that a human can. Those who attempt to label all elegant rugs as “Oriental Area Rugs” are not passionate about what they do.
Our Services
At Oriental Area Rug Cleaning, we take great pride in our knowledge of rug history and Hand Woven Oriental Rugs. We consider ourselves experts in the field, and we’re more than willing to share that knowledge with you.
For more information about our Professional Carpet Cleaning Company, call our team of Oriental Rug Cleaning Experts at (888)-952-3633. We’ll be happy to answer your questions, ease your concerns, or provide a free quote for your next visit.
